Sandoway House getting more visitors with updated exhibits

New director wants to generate more traffic to the Depression-era home

Chris Koch is the excutive director of the Sandoway House and in five months… (Nicholas R. Von Staden,…)

January 11, 2010|By Maria Herrera, Sun Sentinel

Delray Beach — The sharks, sea shells and tortoises are all still there.

But the Sandoway House Nature Center recently welcomed some new residents: Mastodon foot bones, giant armadillo jaws and horse and camel feet dating from 10,000 to 1.8 million years ago.

The bones and replicas of saber cat skulls and other Ice Age animals are part of the Sandoway House's new exhibit: "The Ice Age" — all compliments of the center's new director Chris Koch.

"We did a shark exhibit in August and skeletons in October for Halloween," said Koch, who's been at the nature center for the past five months. "Right now we have the Ice Age exhibit, which couldn't have worked more perfectly with this weather."

A former education coordinator at the South Florida Science Museum and the Palm Beach Zoo, Koch's mission is to attract as many visitors and school groups to the tucked-away nature center as possible. And it has worked so far.

"Last December we had 288 visitors," he said. "This December we had 700."

Koch credits the variety of exhibits for the increased traffic. He also said he plans to make the center's sign more visible and work with local schools to bring in more student groups.

A group of environmentally conscious residents turned the Depression-era colonial home into a nature center in May 1998. The center relies on grants and private donations to support its programs and exhibits. They also host an annual gala to raise funds.

Though known for its shark feedings, the Sandoway House is a 1936 historic property on the National Register of Historic Places and it boasts many environmental education programs.

It also helps that Koch owns many of the exhibits, such as the Ice Age fossils, as part of his Jurassic Parts business, which sets up exhibits of fossils and animal bones found throughout Florida.

But Koch said there's plenty to work with at the center already, from an extensive collection of shells, to the animals that call the center home. His next mission is to increase awareness of the center in the community.

"I didn't even know it was here," said visitor Walter Egger on a recent afternoon visit with wife Nancy.

"It's a neat place. It's great the town preserves these places," added Nancy Egger.